Ups and Downs

How is everyone holding up now? Im feeling better about our playoff chances. I am thinking we are going to be on a roller coaster ride this year due to the tight scheduling. With new faces and injury woes, thats a little harder for our squad to deal with. So i expect to see a fair share of games where we look like Dallas looked last night. Im trying not to be overly critical of the players during the tough spots because of that. Where do you stand at this moment?

Same as I was before the season started - We can finish anywhere between 6th and 10th depending on form and injuries. We have enough talent on our top 6 to win us games, but a lack of talent in our bottom 6 and on the blue line that will cost us games. So right now I'm trying not to get too high when we beat an average team at home who are on the 2nd game of a back-to-back, and trying not to get too low when we lose at home to said same team.

Which team is the real Red Wings, the one that beat Dallas at home or the one that lost to Dallas at home? Both, probably.

Edited by Nev, 30 January 2013 - 12:28 PM.

"If I can be totally honest, it's not a lot of guys you get impressed by. Actually, it's no one else but him. From the bench, to see what move he makes -- you're like, 'I wish I could do that.' Sometimes you sit on the bench and just think, 'wow,' and you look over to the other bench and they sit there and shake their heads, too. He has great, great skills. I'm probably not going to play with another player who has the kind of skills he has." Mikael Samuelsson on Pavel Datsyuk

I really think the Wings are a playoff team. I think the loss of Lidstrom/Stuart are making ppl look at the blue line in an overly pessimistic way. As much as so many ppl hated Ericsson before I think he's taken huge strides the last year+. I also think Quincey is no where near as bad as he played last year (after the trade) or the first couple of games this season.

I think it's only natural for people to see the loss of names on the blue line and think it's all doom and gloom but I think the D will prove to be much better than most ppl anticipated. That said, I'm not saying they will be elite just not necessarily the downfall of this team either.

I see the Wings ending up in the 4-6 range in the WEST. To me, the Hawks and Sharks will be good but they will slow down for their crazy starts. Van and LA should improve while other teams like Anaheim should dwindle.

I'm still sticking to my original idea that this team has the possibility to be a threat. We just need the lineup to be healthy. Our lineup relies wayyyy too much on being injury-free and unfortunately the past recent seasons it hasn't gone our way. If the boys play like they should, people do their job, I don't see any reason why this team can't make some noise during the off-season. They got the talent, and they got the crew, they just need the heart and motivation to carry them. Brunner looks like the real deal so far, and if he continues this play, he needs to be signed before the seasons end ASAP. Other teams are probably drolling over the fact that he is only on a 1-yr term, especially when it's possible he could have a bad experience with detroit if we play poorly. I loved the fact that his experience in detroit has been awesome so far, he loved opening night walking out in the fog seeing all the red lights, he loves the crowd and journey. He could easily become a favorite here, and he is always smiles. I love him already, he just brings another overcasting emotion to the team, they grab his smiles and let it carry. Tootoo has been UNREAL and I hope everyone who was against this signing is eating crow like it's fun. He brings a dimension we haven't had in recent years, and my GOD it feels good to have it back. I just want our fanbase to welcome and keep that boy within our hearts and it looks like that will be happening. Cleary has more than frustrated me, along with Helmer. It seems like he can never stay healthy, and he seriously is my favorite wing next to pasha.

Where I stood at the beginning of the season. We're a playoff team that's one or two defensive moves away from being a Stanley Cup competitor.

Agreed. Wings' blueline doesn't have enough depth to make a deep playoff run, and I think that is what people are missing here. I guess Kenny is hoping that everyone stays healthy come playoffs time, because otherwise, its a first round exit or worse.

The way the team is playing defense right now, along with Howard, gives me hope. If our top two lines can keep scoring (especially on th PP) and the bottom two lines can be physical, we have a chance to be a playoff team.

Honestly, what bothers me the most right now is when we get healthy on D. I worry that this:

Kronwall - Ericsson

Smith - Quincey

White - CocaCola

.....will not play as well defensively as the current squad. And, having 5M+ invested in White and Cola means that the organization will want them on the roster. I like Huskins. He's stable, safe, blaocks shots, and is the prototypical stay-at-home guy that we need. I'll be pissed if he sits for Cola.

I was wrong about not wanting Toots in Red. I can't wait for him to score his first goal and watch the Joe ERUPT! At my house, it only took a couple of games to coin the phrase "True Grit Toots.; He'll get on it Tootsuite".

I think we'll squeek into the layoffs 6 or 8th seed. Then it really needs to be a team effort, with the D maturing in a hurry. I don't expect us to win it all, but with Dats and Z, anything is possible.

The way the team is playing defense right now, along with Howard, gives me hope. If our top two lines can keep scoring (especially on th PP) and the bottom two lines can be physical, we have a chance to be a playoff team.

Honestly, what bothers me the most right now is when we get healthy on D. I worry that this:

Kronwall - Ericsson

Smith - Quincey

White - CocaCola

.....will not play as well defensively as the current squad. And, having 5M+ invested in White and Cola means that the organization will want them on the roster. I like Huskins. He's stable, safe, blaocks shots, and is the prototypical stay-at-home guy that we need. I'll be pissed if he sits for Cola.

I have the exact same sentiments. I think that guys will open up more with that healthy lineup and blow defensive coverage like at the start of the year. Huskins has been great IMO. He plays as the complementary dman in the pairing and doesn't take chances. Those pairings have a lot of guys who like to jump up and take chances and that scares me. Someone needs to agree to play second fiddle.

Is there a kickstarter campaign for Jakub Kindl to never play another NHL game?

Brunner kicks ass. Smith has been impressive. If we get rid of Cleary and Quincey and keep Lashoff up and maybe give Nyquist a spot in the top 6 then I'd be 100% happy. The Wings have been playing pretty damn good hockey aside from the first couple games though.

Yes, it will be. I said in Game 1 that this is a playoff team, but it's not a Cup winning team. Does anyone know when the trade deadline is this season since it's shortened? Buckle up, there's going to be a lot of ups and downs, but hopefully the ups will outweigh the downs.

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The same as I felt before the season. We are going to end up around .500 and finish anywhere from 7th to 10th in the west. In our first 24 games, we play 15 at home. The second half is going to be brutal. 15 of 24 on the road, while playing 3 or 4 games every week. With a team that is old and small, we will continue to have injury issues. Then we face another 1st round PO loss.

I'll wait for them to go down again before saying its an up and down season. I mean, cmon guys, no preseason games, lots of new players, lots of injuries and we struggled. Now that there's some experience and healthy bodies we're playing much better and winning some games. That's not inconsistency, that's normal.

I'll wait for them to go down again before saying its an up and down season. I mean, cmon guys, no preseason games, lots of new players, lots of injuries and we struggled. Now that there's some experience and healthy bodies we're playing much better and winning some games. That's not inconsistency, that's normal.

nope. the world is going to end, the wingshad 2 bad games after being out 9 months, with no preseason games, call it now last place in the league...